Florida and Beyond

Rich in historical roots installed with museums and historic sites, South Georgia and Central Florida’s panhandle provides a glimpse to the past in which the rolling hills, lakes, forests, and nearby cost allows anyone to step out into nature for a few of the South’s most distinguishing assets. Right inside the center in this is the state’s capital where Tallahassee offers numerous miles of trails, gardens, city parks, while stating parks for almost any outdoor enthusiast.

The trails close to Tallahassee cover anything from short, very easy to long, plus more difficult with each trail featuring a own unique characteristics. Just a brief distance apart about the East side of Tallahassee has three different parks, great for hiking, biking, picnics, along with a children’s playground. The Lafayette Heritage Trailhead starts in the heart of Lafayette Park the location where the trail on the East curves about the banks of Piney Z Lake with a levee, which crosses the lake for the JR Alford Greenway. The return trail traverses the backside on the Piney Z community. The loop on the West connects to Tom Brown Park in which the trail has steep inclines and descents rendering it more challenging. The two loops constitute a 5.9-mile hike through many of Tallahassee’s most breathtaking woodlands.

More than 800 acres of hardwoods, pastures, a freshwater swamp, plus a lake makeup the JR Alford Greenway where over seventeen miles of multiuse trails will satisfy all sorts of nature lover. Unlike the Lafayette Trail, the trails allow me to share relatively flat the location where the biggest incline could be the wooden boardwalk covered bridge on the railroad tracks, which connects the 2 main parks. Tom Brown Park is Tallahassee’s favorite and the majority used park with large open fields, tennis courts, and ball fields. In addition, the park has several unpaved nature trail loops, a paved 1.5-mile trail which stretches from your northwest corner on the Southeast corner, as well as a shared use biking trail. The trails combine for under over 5-miles of the pleasurable hike with the woodlands.

Along the edges on the city are a couple of parks with picnic tables as well as other outdoor activities for the enjoyment. On the South side of Tallahassee are definitely the Munson and Twilight trails, which wind their way over the Apalachicola National forest. The Munson Trail loop covers 8.3-miles wrapping around a lake as you move the Twilight Trail covers 10-miles. Combine both the trails utilizing the connector trails for any full day of outdoor adventure. Along the Eastern border of Tallahassee may be the Miccosukee Greenway trail. The trails four loops are the reason for 7-miles of hiking across flat and open land to hilly the place that the trail twists its way through oak woods with diverse scenery. This greenway winds its way through protected living treasures by incorporating homes dating back for the late 1800’s.

For anyone, that is short punctually, you will find several parks right for the edge of down town Tallahassee the place that the trails less difficult shorter. The 3-miles of loop trails at San Luis Mission Park is a good place to escape into your lightly forested woods the spot that the beautiful Lake Esther sits in the center. A classic park for Tallahassee is Lake Ella the location where the.7-mile sidewalk, which encircles the river, provides benches for most leisure time where you could just take within the beautiful scenery or admire the wildlife of ducks and geese. The Fern Trail in Governor’s Park can be a short 1.8-mile loop, which winds its way by way of a forest of hardwood and pines where some fall colors are stored on display. The half-mile one-way Kohl’s Trail will combine the Fern Trail on the 1-mile Bog Path loop, which twists and turns its way along a narrow path crossing several streams by having a thick wet forest, leaving one with the idea of being in a very rain forest. Sitting amidst seven surrounding neighborhoods and covering 72 acres around the Northeast side of Tallahassee is A.J. Henry Park, considered one of Tallahassee’s newest parks. The park features a wooden walkway overlooking a lake, picnic areas, playground, open play areas, and hiking trails. The two loop trails certainly are a short 2-miles combined; however, with all the hillside and crossing from the ravine makes to get a little more of any challenging walk.

Tallahassee besides has trails for the enjoyment, you can find museums and gardens round the city at the same time and may be the home to your mid-1900 English style Tudor home, the place where a short path leads to your 3.5-acre site in a very whimsy lush forest in which the home has sweeping garden views. The beauty with the large oak trees and labyrinths will surly offer the impression you are far away from your city wondering using an oasis fairytale. Just a few blocks from downtown are six acres of an lush Florida garden full of camellias, azaleas, palms along with other native flora giving the park an ambience not found anywhere else inside city. The history of Dorothy B. Oven Park dates back on the mid-1800 when Congress awarded the home and property to General Marquis de Lafayette in 1834. The main home within the property is usually a classic manor-style home with rare magnolia paneling, wood flooring, and antique furniture, suitable for weddings and receptions. Near downtown Tallahassee will be the Goodwood Museum and Gardens, the originally home into a 1,600 acre cotton plantation dating back towards the early 1800’s. Today the home is around the National Register of Historic Places so they cover some 20 acres of century old live oaks and gardens the place that the main home features the initial family furnishings, glassware, and art. Around the main home are 20 other structures dating from 1835 to 1925, the main swimming pool along with an outdoor skating rink.

Just a shorter drive from Tallahassee families can experience state parks, state forests, and also a National Refuge, which offer a assortment of outdoor activities for your personal enjoyment. Just West of Tallahassee is Torreya State Park, named following rare Torreya tree, which only grows around the bluffs overlooking the Apalachicola River. Some of Florida’s finest fall colors take presctiption display through the entire hardwood forest along with the high bluffs, plateaus, and deep ravines makes this park one on the most scenic in Florida. The park has two loop trails the spot that the River Bluff loop is all about seven miles traversing through ravines and streams where Logan’s Bluff towers some 300-feet on top of the Apalachicola River. A.5-mile connector trail leads to your 5-mile loop via a forest of hardwoods, longleaf pines, dogwood, and also the queen Magnolia. The park is additionally the home of the beautiful Southern mansion inbuilt 1849 referred to as the Gregory House.

One of Florida’s most hidden treasures is definitely South of Tallahassee for the Wakulla Springs State Park, designated to be a National Natural Landmark and listed within the National Register of Historic Places. The park contains one with the world’s largest and deepest freshwater springs, the location where the 70-degree waters will really refresh one on the hottest summer days. The history on this park goes thousands of years from early Native Americans to early filmmakers which discovered the primeval quality in the park’s swamps and wild life were the perfect fit for movies like Tarzan’s Secret Treasure (1941) and Creatures on the Black Lagoon (1954). Located between springhead and trail head would be the historic lodge, a component of Old Florida the spot that the elegance in the lodge stands the way it did from the early nineteenth century. The main parks trails covering approximately six miles leads deep in the swamp forest through southern hardwood and maple-cypress habitats where several state and national champion trees, the greatest of their species, mingle to forest giants.

Just over an hour’s drive for the North near Blakely Georgia is Kolomoki Mounds State Park, home in the largest and oldest Woodland Indian site from the Southeastern United States dating back to your era of 350 to 750 AD. Standing at 57-feet high, the Temple Mound is Georgia’s oldest mound, encompassed by smaller mounds used in burial and ceremonials. In addition, on the campground, playground, picnic areas, and delightful lakes the park has three hiking trails covering 5.8 miles. The Trillium loop trail traverses four natural communities because the trail winds its way by using a hardwood forest over the shore of Lake Kolomiki crossing several spring-fed streams. As the trail climbs and descends the various communities, become apparent passing through native bamboo, southern magnolia, loblolly, and spruce pines. Starting at Lake Yohola dam the Spruce Pine loop trail traverses rugged terrain by using a forest of dogwood, water oak, spruce pine, and magnolias, which offers a natural habitat for turkey, deer, and bobcats. Throughout the White Oak loop trail are gulley’s and ravines fed by underground springs which provided loads of water for survival and the place that the wood using this forest supplied the timber required to build thatched huts for housing. Portions of the trail circles the mounds and passes through part with the village area.

West of Tallahassee is virtually 20,000 acres of forestland certainly where an variety of tree species compensates Lake Talquin State Forest. The largest community from the forest may be the upland pines, which sits amidst the rolling forest hills when a wealth of plant and animal diversity thrive. The Bear Creek and Fort Braden Tracts provides some excellent examples in the slope and ravine forest communities. The 492-acre Bear Creek Tract offers three trails totaling 5.5 miles from the most rugged trails from the region through wetlands, sand hills, and dramatic ravines in which the section along Bear Creek has steep inclines and narrow footing. Whereas the Fort Braden Tract highlights a selection of ecosystems while traversing three loop trails totally 9-miles with stunning views of Lake Talquin.

Devastated in 2018 by Hurricane Michael, The Florida Caverns State Park still provides visitors an infrequent glimpse to the past. In the 1930’s the Civilian Conservation Corps hand chiseled the passageways between cave rooms allowing targeted traffic to see 1,000’s of years inside making. The narrow and often low passageways leads through twelve fragile slippery and wet cave rooms where stalactites, stalagmites, flowstones, and draperies remain growing to a visual range of mystifying formations.

Located a shorter drive South of Tallahassee would be the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, which gives a variety of outdoor activities for virtually any outdoor enthusiast. The refuge includes pine flat woods, palm hammocks, marshes, and cypress-lined ponds on the coast, and extends well inland. Scattered on the coast you will find small beaches, and tidal creeks fed by rivers. In addition, the refuge hosts the second oldest lighthouse within the state, constructed in 1842 and contains become one in the most photographed landmarks around the Gulf coast. The trails inside the refuge wind their way through oak hammocks, slash pines, and salt marsh providing some excellent opportunities for photographing migratory birds.